Lubbock, TX

LANGUAGE

The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.

Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000
1990 2000
Number Percent Number Percent
Only English 161,315 78.42% 175,195 77.68%
Spanish 40,372 19.63% 45,812 20.31%
Other Indo-European* 1,954 0.95% 2,302 1.02%
Asian Language** 1,548 0.75% 1,852 0.82%
Other 509 0.25% 365 0.16%
Total Population Age 5+ 205,698 100.00% 225,526 100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 13,380 29.21%
Other Indo-European* 514 22.33%
Asian Language** 942 50.86%
Other Language 63 17.26%
Total 14,899 6.61%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 15,167 37.57%
Other Indo-European* 470 24.05%
Asian Language** 826 53.36%
Other Language 105 20.63%
Total 16,568 8.05%

* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."

** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.

Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.

Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).

Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy